SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD

Published 10:00 pm, Thursday, October 19, 2006

[Editor's note: This editorial has been altered. The original version misstated the tribe with which Kauffman is affiliated.]

When Republican state Sen. Steven Johnson retired from the Legislature to run for the Washington Supreme Court, he left a legacy of thoughtful reason that the voters in the 47th District should be looking for in his replacement.

And they'll find it in the Democrat in the race.

Democrat Claudia Kauffman, who coordinates the state and federal legislative agendas for the Muckleshoot Tribe, would not echo all of Johnson's votes on major issues, but her votes would be based on the same level of conviction and examination.

Her votes would also be more in concert with the views of the district's changing demographics and political values.

Kauffman, a working parent, foster parent and member of the board of trustees at The Evergreen State College, has a clearly superior grasp of and depth in the issues than her Republican opponent, former air traffic controller Mike Riley.

Their veteran incumbent senator gone, district voters should benefit from the fact that Kauffman has garnered, as she puts it, the "knowledge of how the process (in Olympia) works and how to work the process."